Dave Ress

Writer

Dave Ress covers state and regional issues for the Daily Press. He started off in journalism as a stringer for the Christian Science Monitor while a student in Montreal a very long time ago and was a correspondent for Reuters in Montreal, London and Nairobi before getting sense enough to settle in Virginia. Dave is the author of The Burundi Ethnic Massacres: 1988 and Gov. Edward Coles and the Vote to Forbid Slavery in Illinois and is far too interested in history, economics and politics for his own good.

Recent Articles

Virginia could have an extra $2.2 billion in revenue coming. And the state’s Democratic governor and Republican General Assembly leaders squared off Tuesday over what to do with it. Gov. Ralph Northam said Virginia should make “sensible investments” in education, transportation and environmental...

Gov. Ralph Northam’s budget amendments will include a financial boost for the state's affordable housing efforts and more money for legal aid services to help people facing eviction. In his latest hint about the budget he’ll present Tuesday, Northam said he is proposing an additional $19 million...

A scathing review of Virginia's foster care system is sparking promises of a General Assembly push for reform. The report, by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), found Virginia: * does a below-average job of finding permanent homes for children in foster care; * keeps too...

The week before a Virginia governor presents a budget to the General Assembly money committees, it’s pretty typical that big guy hits the road to announce spending plans — especially popular ones. And money committee members are usually pretty tight-lipped in response. Without a look at the whole...

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed a juvenile justice bill that includes key reforms Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Newport News, has been pushing for years. Scott’s decade-long effort has focused on a federal initiative to bring local law enforcement, schools, courts,...

Take a look at that full page ad in the Virginian-Pilot Friday, signed by scores of Virginia Beach business leaders and ask if it isn’t a bit of a warning shot. The ad says those business owners and executives want to see nondiscrimination protections in housing and public employment for gay and...

Sometimes, the tie vote that defeats a bill in a House of Delegates committee might just possibly signal it is worth trying again. Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, hopes that’s what happens with his effort to put some muscle on Virginians’ right to sue if their wages aren’t paid. Krizek’s bill would...

A scathing review of Virginia's foster care system is sparking promises of a General Assembly push for reform. The report, by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, found Virginia: * does a below-average job of in finding permanent homes for children in foster care; * keeps too many...